The Boston Celtics’ season may have ended at the hands of LeBron James, but Al Horford was a big reason why they were there in the first place.
Some will say the Boston Celtics’ success this season was due to the coaching genius of Brad Stevens. Others will attribute it to the offseason trade acquisition of Kyrie Irving. Still others will attribute it to a second -ear surge from Jaylen Brown, or last year’s No. 3 pick Jayson Tatum. All certainly played a vital role in guiding the Celtics to a 55-27 record and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but none was more integral and valuable to the team than Al Horford.
Al Horford just wrapped up his 11th season in the NBA, and his second with Boston. Over the course of his career, Horford owns career averages of 14.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. The latter category is a bit misleading, as Horford has averaged no fewer than 4.7 assists per game in his short time with Boston.
ESPN denotes Horford’s position as a power forward — his natural position — but he played 57 percent of his minutes at the 5-spot this past season, and 75 percent of his minutes as a center in his first season with Boston. Regardless of the discrepancy, Horford was fourth in assists per game amongst all qualified power forwards this past season with 4.7, and was third the previous season with 5.0 per game. Not bad for a player “whose team has outgrown him.”
Al Horford is a former No. 3 overall pick, and while he may not be the polished scorer that Tatum is, (or that Brown is becoming), his value isn’t in his scoring ability — it’s everywhere else.